Piston aligner



March 16,1926. 1,576,594

' A. F. FROUSSARD PISTON ALIGNER Filed, May 7'. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

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PISTON ALIGNER.

Application filed May 7,

1 ord Z err/ 1 0172; it may concern:

Be it known that I, Amman F. FuoUssAnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St.- Louis, in the State of Misssouri, have invented certain new and useful IHIPFQVO11101118 in Piston Aligners, 01? which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pistonaligners,- or jigs for testing the parallelism of connecting-rod bearing, and has for its object to provide such a device which shall be simple and compact in construction and by means of which the aligning oit' pistons and the parallelism oi? connecting-rod bearings may be accurately and rapidly tested.

A further object is to provide means for accommodating the device to various styles and sizes of pistons and connecting-rods. Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which like numbers of reference denote. like parts wherever they occur,

Figure 1 device;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same;

Figure 3 is a front view; and

Figure 4 is a detail view of the detached mandrel, showing the application of a bushing thereto. 4

Referring to the drawings, the framework 1 of the device is preferably a casting and consists of the base-plate 2, an upright or standard 3, and a top plate 4. Base-plate 2 has a plurality of holes 5 for the reception of screws used in fastening the device to'any suitable support. Standard 3 has a horizontal boss 6 provided with reinforcing end flanges 7 and containing a cylindrical hole 8 for the reception of a mandrel 9, secured in hole 8 by a set-screw 10, held in a tapped boss 11 in the side of boss 6. Top plate 4 has a rectangular recess or groove 12 across its top surface 13, the surface '13 and the sides 14 and bottom 15 of groove 12 being planed true and exactly parallel to the axis of the mandrel 9. 1

A substantially L-shaped casting 16 consists of a vertical plate 17 and a horizontal plate 18, the outer face 19 of plate 17 and is an elevation of the complete the bottom 20 of plate 18 being planed true and perpendicular to one another. The plate .18 has a tongue 21 planed to g reeve 12,

axis of the mandrel 9.

1923. Serial No. 637,288.

said tongue 21 depending from and extending longitudinally of the bottom 20 and perpendicularly to the face 19. This tongue and groove construction permits of sliding. the faces 3 and 20 on one another, but limits the movement to a direction parallel to the I A rih 22 connects plates 17 and 18 more substantially and stif' ens the said plates 17 and 18 relatively to one another A groove or recess 23 in the inclined side 24 of rib 22'and a slot 25 extending through the middle of plate 18 and its'tongue 21 and parallel to said tongue 21 are provided for the )urpos e of clearing screw 26, extending tirough said slot 25 and fitting into a tapped hole 27 in plate 4, said screw 26 having a knurled head 28 whose shoulder 29 abuts against thetop 30 of plate 18.

In making tests, the connecting-rod 31 to be tested is clamped to the mandrel 9 by its crank-shaft bearing 32 and cap 33, the Wristpin 34 being clamped in its bearing 35 by tightening the screw 36,- the end 3'? of pin 34 abutting against the surface plate 17 A square 38 of novel construction, having sides 39 and 40 perpendicular to each other, an extension 41 defining a corner notch or re cess 41 and an opening or recess 42 for clear ing the bearing 35, is placed with its side 39 against surface 19 and its side 49 against the wrist-pin 34. The test is'made three directions, once holding the square 38 verti}; cally above the wrist-pin 34 as shown in full lines, and then horizontally at each sideoif the wrist-pin as shown in dotted-lines at 43 and 44 respectively (see Figure When wrist-pin 34 has been proven to be perpendicular to the surface 19, the pin 34 is released from hearing 35 by loosening screw 36 and Withdrawing pin 34. The piston 45 is then placed in the position shown by dotted-lines in Figure 1, and the wrist-pin 34 inserted through the piston bearings and the bearing 35. The distances intervening between the piston 45 and the surface 19 at the lower end 46 and the upper end 47, respectively, are then measured by any suitable means, and, if similar at both upper end 47 and lower end 46, the test shows that the piston is perpendicular to the mandrel 9,

and consequentlytothecrank-Shaft of the engine, which is the result desired. 7 For the purpose of accommodating the device to connecting rods having bearings of various diameters, I provide a series of bushings 4:8 for the mandrel 9. Such a bushing 48 is shown on the mandrel 9 in Figure 4, the bushing 48 having a longitudinal slit d9 for the purpose of reducing its stiffness and allowing it to yield and press the mandrel 9 when clamped in the bearing The bushing yields more effectively when the slit i9 is placed in line with the meeting surfaces 50 of the bearing 33.

It will, also, be understood that in additien to the bushing, I have provided other novel means of adjustment, which facilitate the manipulation of the apparatus and its adaptation to various sizes of pistons and connecting-rods, as for instance, the adj ustability of the mandrel 9 through the boss 6 of the standard 3, and the tongue and groove construction for permitting latitude of position of the L-sl aped casting 1G.

The device is, also, reversible, the construetion permitting the placing of" the i. shaped casting 16 and the mandrel 9 at the end of the standard 3 opposite to that snown in the drawings.

The bushing 4-8 is, also, provided with a keyway 51, which co-operates with a pin 52 secured in any suitable manner, preterably by a tight fit, in the mandrel 9. This construction prevents rotation of the bushing 4:8 with the connecting rod 31 when the latter is turned on the bushing 48. It is thus possible to use the mandrel and bushing, also, in the operation of lapping the crank-shaft bearing.

Having thus described this invention, I hereby reserve the benefit of all changes in form, arrangement, order, or use of parts, as it is evident that many minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A piston-aligncr comprising a support ing member, a mandrel borne by the supporting member, and a member having a surface perpendicular to the axis of said mandrel and borne by the said supporting member, the connection between the two members including a flat upper plate carried by the supporting member and grooved in the longitudinal direction of the mandrel and the surface member having a lower base arm carrying a depending rib slidable in the groove of the plate and means for holding the base arm and plate in adjusted positions.

2. A piston-aligner comprising a support irg member, amandrel borne by the said supporting member, and a plate borne by the said supporting member and having a surface perpendicular to the axis oi said mandrel and adjustable in a direction parallel to said axis, the connection between the supporting member and plate including a grooved wall at the upper end of the supporting member and a depending rib carried by the lower end of. the plate slidable in the wall grooves and means for holding the parts in adjusted position.

3. A piston aligner comprising a supporting member including an elongated top plate having a longitudinally extending groove, the said supporting member having a tubular boss extending in parallelism with the plane of the top plate, an L-shaped member having a tongue toslidably fit the groove in said top plate and a surface extending at ri ht angles to the bore of the tubular boss, means for adjustably holding the L- shaped member in place, a mandrel adjustable in said tubular boss, and means for holding the mandrel in its adjusted position.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

ALBERT F. FROUSSARD. 

